Cross country teammates Rondeau and Desing honored
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
When a team reaches the pinnacle, as the East Troy girls cross country squad did with its Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 2 state championship in October, individual honors are certain to follow.
And in the past week, two key members of that squad, freshmen Ella Rondeau and Maddie Desing, did just that.
Rondeau was named the District 6 girls runner of the year in a vote from 73 coaches. She also was a second-team, All-State selection based on her sixth-place individual finish.
The District 6 honor is a big one, East Troy co-head coach Michael Rajsich said.
“Having the coaches vote Ella District 6 runner of the year is a huge accomplishment for Ella and the team,” he said. “With 73 coaches/teams in District 6, there are a lot of great runners who could have easily won the award.
“A lot of the district coaches had the opportunity to see her run at some point, and it is a tremendous honor to be recognized by the coaches.”
East Troy co-head coach Laurie Crandall agreed.
“It’s a huge honor to work with an athlete like Ella and to see her recognized at this level,” Crandall said. “She epitomizes many characteristics that coaches look for in an athlete.
“Ella is hard working, determined, a good teammate and is very coachable. She respects our training and pushes herself to get everything out of the workouts. It was very rewarding to see Ella improve week after week. She trained hard and definitely earned this recognition with her phenomenal performance at state.”
Both Rajsich and Crandall added that, while Rondeau’s honor recognizes her individual accomplishments, it’s certainly a reflection of everything the team achieved.
“Many people said our girls were under the radar this season,” Crandall said. “However, as we entered October, the success of our team became hard to ignore. These girls just kept improving week after week.
“While this is a great honor for Ella, it is also a reflection of the work ethic of this team. They pushed each other in practice and in meets. The success they experienced really came from their collaborative efforts.”
Rajsich, who also coached Rondeau in middle school, said the honor shows how hard she has worked.
“She has continued to improve as a runner from her dedication and commitment during the season and off-season,” he said. “Receiving (the honor) is a huge accomplishment for her, her family and the team.
“Her teammates pushed her to be the best she could be, and she really ran well at the end of the year when it counted most.”
Both Rondeau and Desing, who was 17th individually at state, also were named honorable mention, All-Area by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
“This was another great honor that they earned with their hard work and dedication,” Rajsich said. “It is great to see individual runners get recognized after the state title. It truly shows the great season the girls team had as a group and as individual runners.”
Desing was named the team’s most valuable runner after a season that saw her finish in the top 20 in all 12 races, in the top 10 in nine races and in the top five in seven. She also won two races and is the school record holder in the 5K with a time of 18:35.
“Maddie led the team throughout the season, starting on the first day of practice,” Crandall said. “Our veteran runners commented at the end of the first day that they were really having to push just to keep up with her.
“It was the same on race day. Maddie got out early in the race and pushed herself to stay with the top pack. Her teammates then had to push to keep up with her. She had a phenomenal season and was critical to the success this group experienced.”
Rajsich said the team will be honored during halftime of the varsity boys basketball game Dec. 6 against Jefferson.
